Help clean up the Welsh Harp tomorrow

Saturday February 24th 11am-2pm

Help us clean up this special reservoir in north-west London, for the benefit of nature and wildlife.
Join Thames21, London Wildlife Trust, Friends of the Welsh Harp, Canal & River Trust and the Phoenix Canoe Club as we come together to tackle litter on the Brent Reservoir Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Meet us at the builders’ lot by Cool Oak Lane Bridge (closest postcode is NW9 7BH). All safety equipment and refreshments are provided. Please dress appropriately.

Ths is a free event but please let us know that you intend to join – email ccullen@wildlondon.org.uk

Welsh Harp, also known as Brent Reservoir, is a SSSI noted for its breeding pairs of great crested grebe, overwintering waterfowl, and marginal vegetation. So you will be making a difference to wildlife by volunteering.

Asbestos row: Duffy accuses Brent Council of sanctioning personal attacks on him

Cllr John Duffy has returned to the issue of asebstos contamination in Paddington old Cemetery with an email to councillors and others accusing the council of sanctioning personal attacks on him in the face of his attempts to unearth the facts over the issue.

Duffy wrote:

Brent Council has taken the extraordinary step of sanctioning personal attacks on me, These attacks  are a complete distortion of the facts and many are  plainly untrue. The Officers of Brent council have published what they call a fact sheet on there Web-site and handed out a similar document at a public meeting, which names me.. 

The officers are suggesting I am the cause of unhelpful rumours, which have left people feeling scared and uneasy instead of responding to the needs of my residents.

This is of course nonsense many of the facts stated are commonly agreed However the document seeks to mislead Brent residents by mixing -up facts to negate the real issues. All the issues I have revealed are all supported by evidence, unlike the officers facts which are based on the their views and have no evidence then other than "The Audit review report concluded that procurement procedures within the Cemeteries Service were inadequate at the time that work was undertaken at the cemetery and that management consider the recommendations from consultants to proportionately mitigate the soil contamination identified" Basically saying they had no control systems at the time  and in layman's terms the contaminated waste that was sent to Paddington Cemetery was not screened. I have been in the waste management business for over 40 years , I can tell you  that the idea that officers cannot not tell the difference between soil ( which would be usual for a graveyard  ) and builders rubble  ( which ended up in Paddington Cemetery) is frankly staggering.

FACT 1

I believe the import of builders rubble including Asbestos  ,instead of  soil has been going on for a number of years ,in fact since 2010/11  and the audit report confirms  that fact.In 2010/ 11 we paid £21K for  work including the supplying and laying of top Soil. The officer who was in charge went of sick  and the  person who took charge queried the quality of the  work and soil. He instructed that the contractor who carried out the work was not to be used for future work". 

FACT 2 

If we move forward to  August 2015 , we sees avery similar scenario another assignment of soil/Clay  which was bound for the section 3D on the mound in Paddington Cemetery.However this time the soil  to back fill a hole following the removal of a tree roots .The  assignment was found to have asbestos within it .The Brent Officers believed  it to be asbestos  and double bagged it and sent it West London Waste Authority for disposal  , the consignment note confirms that fact said it was classified as Hazardous waste and weighted 60 KGs.  

FACT 3

The  scenario continued and further shipments of waste was sent to section 3D in Paddington Cemetery to backfill the hole .During a excavation of 3D  for a burial on the 9th May ( 20 months after delivery of the shipment took place ) and on the 18th May 2017 , asbestos was  discovered and a sample was  sent to Tersus Asbestos specialists for examination and they conclude on the 17th May  that  it was asbestos cement (Chrysotile) the remaining( hundreds of pieces )  weighting 30Kgs was sent to Brentwood Essex .The consignment note confirms that fact saying it was Asbestos cement ( Chrysotile ) .

FACT 4

Every since the area (3D ) was used  for burials the gravediggers have excavated large amounts of builders rubble .However on May 9th Asbestos was found.Brent council     instead of stoping all new work  still instructed the contractor to continue to  excavate for new burials . The test result came back from Tersus Asbestos Specialists confirming Asbestos Cement ( Chrysotile) on the  17th May 2017. A further find of Asbestos took place on the 18th May by the contractor. Brent officers still instructed  the contractor to continued to  carry out burials until May 30th some 21 days after the initial find of asbestos and 13th days after confirmation that the find of up to a hundred pieces was  indeed asbestos cement. The  officers assertion that the gravediggers wore disposable coveralls for these burial is untrue  neither were they informed of the Tersus results  or given any specialised training. Work continued on the mound throughout out the summer and operatives were not given  any protective clothing or breathing equipment. I am sure now that the Brent Council have reluctantly agreed to interview staff, they will confirm the facts.

FACT 5

I produced photographic evidence that operatives were working on the mound .I supplied pictures given to me by a resident which  were taken Monday June 26th *2017 The resident was concerned  that the work-force / public were  not protected from hazardous dust on Mound arising from works that were taking place. Brent council in their attempt to smear me and distortions the facts  they took  the absurd   positions of saying the "Photographs (are) not conclusive. Works and precise location not identified". They are pictures of a graveyard , with gravestones .Its a fact we have  been using stones as historical marker since Stonehenge . How Brent Officers can say gravestones do not a portray a precise location beggars belief.  As for the date of the work you would only need to interview the workforce who were bussed in to do the work and see if they were informed that Asbestos had been confirmed on the mound and were they issued with protective clothing and was  the area sealed off to protect the public. I believe the photographs confirm the fact  that work continue on the mound and residents band the workforce was put at unnecessary risk.

FACT 6

The two specialist reports by Eton Environment ( Sept 2017) and Delta -Simon (Jan 2018)  took place well after the ( around a hundred  pieces of )  asbestos had been removed following their discovery in  May 2017 .The Eton Environment survey  found 28% of their samples were positive for asbestos  including  several large chunks of Asbestos cement which had high content. Whereas both the surveys point to a low risk situation now, the surveys was taken following the removal of around a hundred pieces of the Asbestos found  on the 9th and 18th May 2017 .Furthermore the reports do not comment on the level of contamination/ risk that was present when the  Asbestos was discovered and the risk associated with it removal undertaken by Brent Council. However the reports confirm the fact "No asbestos sampling was undertaken in association with this (those) reports" the only asbestos sampling report was Tersus  and the consignment notes which  confirm the fact that  asbestos was cement (Chysotile) " and the  consignment notes confirm the amount of Hazardous waste found so far has been 90 KGS 

FACT  7

The issue about the council being open is not sustainable. The facts confirm they have been forced to publish the internal Audit report, it is clear they tried to ensure the press and the public were excluded from all meetings . They were forced  to interview staff who were present  at the discovery of the contaminated waste in Carpenders Park. They were forced  to interview the gravediggers who carried out the burials. They also never published documentation from Tersus Asbestos specialists which showed they were aware it was Asbestos Cement ( Chrysotile) on the  17th May 2017. They have been forced to publish  relevant  (not all as at least two consignment notes are missing) documentation. They did not inform the school that work was being carried out  to remove asbestos .The idea they did not contact the school/residents not to raise alarm is nonsense. The councils Audit Report did not mention the School or the affect on residents while the removal of asbestos was taking place. The council had no intention of informing the school or indeed the residents.  They reluctantly called a public meeting where  they ensured no one  but themselves were given platform , instead allowing a panel of four council officers (accompanied by a further eight in the audience)  to put the council view  ensuring only they could be heard.

At the meeting council officers tried to avoid the real issue the which is how consignments of clay changed to builders rubble (with Asbestos)  and did they recklessly put people at risk by continuing  to carry-out works after the Asbestos was found on May 9th and were they right to store the contaminated  waste by the Green Space.

The Audit  report the council relies on, do not address the issues. I  believe that the  evidence bears our the fact that the council instead of preparing soil  that had ben screened for the burial of residents , they knowingly transferred to Paddington Cemetery sub standard soil /rubble including Asbestos. I believe we need an independent Health and Safety investigation (why did the council chose an audit report?), which looks at the facts outlined above and believe the council should be forced to implement that impartial investigation , including the issue of compensation for resident who bought burial plots in 3D section of the mound.

* Not the  24th as originally state 

KUWG urge Brent Labour to reject DWP's justification for job centre closures

Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group KUWG) are urging Brent councillors on the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee not to accept a DWP report tonight which reports on the closure of Kilburn and Neasden Job Centres. LINK

KUWG's case is set out in the leaflet below (Click on image to enlarge):

 The campaign group are organising a demonstration on March 2nd to mark the closure of the Kilburn Job Centre Plus.

 

Police called to Brent Civic Centre as Village School strikers protest

From the Brent National Education Union

The NEU members of The Village school in Brent took their protest to the steps inside Brent Civic Centre again today. As about forty staff, on strike for the second day this week against the proposed academy trust, moved onto the steps with their banners, frantic security staff rushed over. One tried to prevent a banner proclaiming NEU staff say no academy at Village school being unrolled. The campaigners calmly continued, holding up placards and flags, and singing their protest songs. 

Yesterday, after their morning picket, they were seen writing letters on the very same steps without complaint. When the police finally arrived today, the Civic Centre having been regaled with a variety of songs and chants and becoming the centre of attention, the protest was packing away. The security staff called the protesters ‘disruptive’. However, the police saw no breach of the peace and were very sympathetic to the strikers, understanding that privatisation was affecting all public services. 

We have been reliably informed that the responses to the consultation were OVERWHELMINGLY against the proposal (including more than 95% of TVS staff). This further crushing blow to those backing the scheme comes after Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council declared public opposition of both himself and the Labour Cabinet to handing over this valuable Council asset (the new school cost £29 million) lock, stock and barrel to the privateers. 

The Governors meet next Wednesday 28^th to make the decision, but papers sent to Governors clearly recommend agreement to become a Multi Academy Trust. Such is the assumption this will go ahead, the next item on the agenda is a discussion of the Articles of Association and even the suggested name for the MAT. NEU staff are determined to keep up the fight to save their school from being privatised. They will be on strike tomorrow (22^nd) and next week on 27^th and 28^th as well as turning up at the Governors meeting.

Key questions on Wembley regeneration for Scrutiny Committee

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The Wembley skyline from Chalkhill Park

Tonight's Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee is discussing a report on Wembley Regeneration LINK this evening.

The report by Amar Dave, Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment, reads more like a public relations plug for Quintain than an objective, warts and all assessment of the regeneration of Wembley so far.

The Scrutiny Committee are asked merely to note the contents of the report but I hope they will go a lot further in assessing this multi-million project.

Apart from the issue of  the 17.8m payment of CIL money for improvements to the public realm around Wembley Stadium, which includes new steps to replace the present stadium entrance ramps, there are other issues worthy of probing questions from committee members.

The issue of the provision of truly affordable housing looms large for many Brent people and the report claims that over 30% of the housing provided is affordable. This raises the question, aired many times on Wembley Matters, of what is meant by affordable. The committee should seek precise figures on how much has been provided at 80%, 65%, or 50% of marker rent or at the London Living Rent recommended by the GLA. What proportion of the housing could be afforded by Brent residents earning the median family income for the borough?

There is increasing criticism of the way high rise buildings are being squeezed into every available space by Quintain and it is worth assessing to what extent they have departed from the original plans and whether this more speculative build is the result of Quintain's takeover by Texas Star. The report merely notes that the acquisition has accelerated delivery without discussing whether this has led to any deterioration in quality.

Planning officers' recommendation of granting of planning permission even when  buildings do not meet London or Brent planning guidelines on factors such as height, light and density deserve probing as does the controversy surrounding the leader of the council's and lead member's meetings with developers.

The amount of student accommodation in the area deserves consideration following the planning department's decision to move the goal posts. They now assess the proportion against the target in terms of future build rather than current build enabling more applications to be approved.

The report makes great claims for job creation but the committee should be interested in the quality and sustainability of the jobs created, the proportion that are low paid or zero hours contracts as well as the number of jobs that have been lost when small businesses have moved out to make way for more high rise blocks.

There are many more issues but one of the most pressing is the plan to build a new three form entry primary free school, to be run by Ark,  on the site of the York House car park. Its position on a road with heavy polluting traffic and on a small site that necessitates a roof top playground has been criticised, but whether such a school is needed is also subject to debate.



 

How Brent schools have been hit by real-terms funding cut

From the National Education Union

While schools have been doing all they can to shield their pupils from the damage caused by the £2.8 billion real-terms cut from school budgets since 2015, the lack of investment in education is really biting.

The latest research from the School Cuts Coalition, drawn from figures produced by the Government itself, shows that secondary school staff numbers in England have fallen by 15,000 between 2014/15 and 2016/17 despite them having 4,500 more pupils to teach.

Secondary schools have seen their staffing fall by an average of 5.5 posts since 2015. These cuts are affecting front line teaching, with each school losing an average of 2.4 classroom teachers and 1.6 teaching assistants as well as 1.5 support staff. 

The School Cuts coalition warn that the situation is likely to get even worse, as 17,942 (nine out of ten) primary and secondary schools in England and Wales are predicted to be hit by a real-terms cut in funding per pupil between 2015-19.

Hank Roberts, Brent ATL secretary said, “Government cuts to education are really hurting Brent’s schools. This new research shows the effect cuts are having on Brent's schools.”

Sotira Michael, Brent NUT secretary said, “We should be investing in our young people. Education Secretary Damian Hinds must make school funding is top priority.”

To see how funding cuts have affected your school, visit schoolcuts.org.uk

 

THE FIGURES FOR BRENT SCHOOLS ARE IN THE SPREADSHEET BELOW (Click bottom right square to enlarge)

The data is drawn from a comparison of School workforce in England: November 2016 and School workforce in England: November 2014. We have also used Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2015 and Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2017 to calculate the pupil : classroom teacher ratio and the pupil : teaching assistant ratio. 

Forget the KFC crisis - new healthy cafe to open in Roundwood Park

Roundwood Park

 There was dismay in Harlesden and Willesden when the well-loved community cafe in Roundwood Park closed its doors last year.

Now with Spring on its way it has been announced that a new cafe will open in mid-March.

JSS Catering made a successful bid to run an environmentally friendly cafe in the park. The Roundwood Lodge Cafe will offer a wide range of dishes exemplifying its 'farm to table' ethos. A family-friendly atmosphere will make it an ideal meeting place for local people and their children.

The cafe will also offer cooking classes showing visitors how to prepare their favourite dishes from the menu.

The cafe will add to the facilties in the park which include an aviary, bowling green, outdoor gym and children's playground.

A cafe with a lovely park attached - what's not to like? I wish them well.

Academisation battle: Village School staff strike for another 3 days this week and withdraw goodwill

From the NEU


As staff in the NEU at The Village school in Brent take three more days of strike action this week (20^th, 21^st and 22^nd) they are also withdrawing goodwill. Every non-strike day between now and the 28^th February when the Governors meet to make their decision as to whether to convert to an academy or not, they will only “work your proper hours”. Usually they work many extra hours of non-directed time every week. 

Cllr Jumbo Chan, said “I am very proud that many of my Brent Labour Group colleagues, including the leadership, are supporting the teachers and support staff of The Village School, who are being forced again this week to take action to stop their school being academised. I do hope the governors finally acknowledge this move as unpopular and unnecessary, and to immediately halt the misguided move towards academisation.” 

As part of their action staff will be holding a letter writing session to Governors on Tuesday after the early morning picket on the steps inside the Brent Civic Centre. On Wednesday, they will return to protest and sing songs to highlight their campaign. They have also been trying to organise one to one meetings with Governors over the three strike days. Gail Tolley, Strategic Director for Children and Young People has agreed to meet the strikers on Wednesday. 

Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent North has written further to the Head, Kay Charles following the public meeting on 8^th February. In a detailed letter outlining arguments that called into question the depth of the consultation and the one-sided view given, he urged her to, “convey to all Governors ... the absolute opposition that was expressed by parents, teachers, staff, local council representatives and other fellow citizens of the Borough.” 

He concluded warning Governors that taking what would be “an irrevocable decision” would cut the school off from the “democratic accountability of the local authority” an authority that had given The Village school “the extraordinary endowment of £29 million”. He hoped the Governors would “decide to keep the school as part of the Brent family of schools and decide not to become a Multi Academy Trust” rather than rely on a “potentially distant and hostile secretary of state”. 

Martin Powell-Davies, London Regional Secretary NEU, NUT Section said, “It is astonishing that Governors should be considering academisation of this school in the face of overwhelming evidence that the academies system is failing to improve pupil attainment but, instead, is resulting in an expensive, unstable, inefficient and undemocratic mess.”

Doru Athinodoru, Regional Official NEU, ATL Section said, “Public money, Public ownership, public accountability.” 

These comments mirror the conclusions of the very well attended meeting organised by Barry Gardiner on 8^th February. Staff and others are lobbying for the Governors meeting on 28^th February to be open to the public as Barry Gardiner had urged the Chair to do so. There has been some movement on this but the lobbying continues.

So where has Brent Council's CIL cash gone?

The £17.8m Community Infrastructure Levy allocated to infrastructure improvement by Brent Council to the area around the stadium, including the replacement of the ramp by steps, has rightly caused considerable controversy. 

Quintain's total CIL liability to date is  £31.8m of which £11.4m has been paid. Add in the £17.8m and there isn't a lot left.

Of the total CIL monies 85% is alllocated to major infrastructure projects and 15% to Neighbourhood Projects.

These are the allocations for Round 1 of the Neighbourhood CIL projects. Around £250,000 went to projects in the Wembley area (Click square on bottom right to enlarge):

Another round of applications closes in June 2018.

In addition  Quintain and its development partners Wates, McLaren, Jon Sisk and Son, McAleer and Rushe have set up the Wembley Community Fund for projects in Wembley Park and 'the surrounding area'. Grants are betweem £1,000 and £10,000.

These are its allocations so far:

Brent reveals its property and assets - look out for some surprises

There's an intruiging item on the agenda for the Public Realm and Resources Scrutiny Committee meeting on Wednesday February 21st.

The Committee had asked for a list of all Brent properties and assets. In the past the Council has been quite vague about its property ownership and seemed to be surprised at times to find it owened properties such as the Boxing Club at the  old Teachers Centre in Brentfield Road (now the Leopold Primary Annex). Sometimes this resulted in tenants being suddenly asked for substantial rents rather than previous peppercorn rents.

Although the list is an attempt to get things in order the Committee may well want to question some of the valuations in a list of assets that range from crematoria to children's centres, from public toilets to schools, community centres to libraries - as well as the income generated by the assets. Some of the map references are completely wrong.  If I were a member of the Scrutiny Committee I would be inclined to refer the list back to officers for correction and further  thorough research, particularly on some of the extremely low valuations of some of the properties.

The List (Click on bottom right square to enlarge)

Revised plans for replacing King's Drive estate garages with bungalows

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The plan - trees to be removed in red

Proposed bungalows

The site at present

 Brent Council (formerly BHP) have been seeking areas of the borough's council estates to build new homes in its Refill Development Programme in an attempt  to build more affordable homes to alleviate the housing shortage in the borough.

Modified plans have been published to replace garages on the King's Drive Estate (between Barn Hill (the road) and King's Drive. After initial consultation the plans were put on hold due to the surprise General Election but attracted local opposition include a 100 signature petition.

Opposition came from residents of the large private homes on Barn Hill whose gardens back on to the estate and residents of the blocks on the estate. The former concentrated on the loss of trees that screen their gardens from the estate and the latter on the loss of car parking, citing shortage of parking as a continuing problem on the estate. The revised plan includes re-provision of 25 parking places for residents

Objections have also been made to the design of the proposed 4 flat-roofed bungalows and the fact that vehicular access will be restricted which is a problem on the closes on the estate with large refuse lorries often encountering problems.

King's Drive residents have accused Brent Council/BHP of deliberately running down the garages that will be replaced by the bungalows and allege that tenants were not given sufficient notice of eviction. Similar allegations have been made on other estates. 

A King's Drive resident's submission on the Planning Portal:

I have resided at the above address for over twenty years. It is a ground floor flat with the rear elevation backing onto the said garages. My living room and main bedroom overlook this view, which I would describe as quiet, with a pleasant aspect of trees, grass and wildlife. Since 2017 it has however been in a state of ‘limbo’ since myself and other residents were (with very little notice) rudely EVICTED from these garages. 


This has resulted in people from outside the estate ‘dumping’ vehicles and rubbish in front of the garages. In fact, one of the garages has been forced open and filled with car tyres. Most unpleasant environmentally? and a fire hazard! One of my main objections to the proposal is that after the recent introduction of increased parking restrictions to our area there is already a shortage of parking for the tenants and visiting tradesmen to the estate. This will only be exasperated if the building of the bungalows goes ahead. The proposed plan for extra parking provisions for existing  tenants has not been properly thought through, and could only ever be achieved with the wilful destruction of more trees and foliage to the rear of my property.

If this building goes ahead the noise, dust and vibrations will be intolerable whilst under construction. Upon completion my ‘block’ of flats will be in very close proximity to the bungalows. In fact, my ground floor flat is at the bottom of a grassed slope, which is below the projected level of the new builds, so the occupants and their vehicles will face directly down into my living room and bedroom areas leaving me with a loss of privacy, light and what was a ‘green’ outlook. The pollution of noise and dust from further occupants and their vehicles is not something that my husband and I look forward to as we are both pensioners in our seventies. We, like all the other residents enjoy the open environmental character of the area, in particular as we are on the edge of Fryent Country Park, but I fear that this is just the beginning of an erosion of this irreplaceable treasure.

In conclusion, the garages have been deliberately allowed to decay through lack of maintenance as an excuse for demolition!  

Although myself and other residents use public transport whenever practicable, Brent have a duty of care to their existing tenants to provide reasonably safe and secure parking facilities rather than misappropriate them.

Please do not allow this to happen.

Clearly the needs of people on the housing waiting list have to be balanced with the quality of provision for those living on the estate and environmental issues but the council seems not to have helped themselves win over people  through clumsy consultation that residents allege has used misleading photographs and statistics.

A report to Housing Scrutiny Committee LINK puts the building costs of the 4  units at a total of  £1,950,000 which seems quite steep considering the quality of the buildings shown in the artist's impression above.

They even managed to get the date of the amended description wrong on the Site Notice:

Further details can be found on the Planning Portal (Ref 17/5416) LINK

 Details of the Infill Development proposals across the borough are in the document below:

Free English classes in Brent

 Free, open to all, no papers needed, drop-in ok
For more information call Robin 07974 331 053.

Intermediate Classes:

Sundays 11am -1pm
Apollo Club, 375 Willesden High Road, NW10 2JR
Enrolment: 18 February
Start: 25 February
Finish: 22 April

Monday 6pm -7.30pm:
Kilburn Library, 42 Salusbury Road, NW6 6NN
Enrolment: 26 February
Start: 5 March
Finish: 26 April

Tuesday 10am - 12pm
Apollo Club, 375 Willesden High Road, NW10 2JR
Enrolment: 20 February
Start: 27 February
Finish: 24 April

Wednesday 1pm - 3pm
CVS Brent Training room, 7 Rutherford Way, Wembley, HA9 0BP
Started already, new people welcome
Finish: 28 April

Beginner Classes:
Thursdays 7pm - 9pm
Harlesden Salvation Army, 32 Manor Park Road, NW10 4JJ
Enrolment: 22 February
Start: 1 March
Finish: 19 April

Talk: Kingsbury's aircraft industry - Barham Community Library February 28th

Quintain euphoric after Brent approves the biggest yet Boxpark in Wembley

It appears that what Quintain wants, Quintain gets, although their and Brent Council's vision for Wembley may not be shared by all residents.

This is Quintain's unedited press release about the Planning Committee's approval of the planning application for a Boxpark to be situated for 10 years at the junction of Olympic Way and Fulton Road.

Boxpark and Quintain last night secured planning permission for the largest Boxpark to date. The London Borough of Brent granted permission for Boxpark Wembley, a 10 year joint venture between Quintain and Boxpark Ltd. to bring forward a brand-new casual dining and event destination, located directly on Olympic Way (known to fans around the world as the iconic Wembley Way).

Set to open in late 2018, Boxpark Wembley will be positioned in the heart of Wembley Park – an area which is being transformed into a new creative district for London. The arrival of Boxpark, home to some of the UK’s most innovative street food operators and cutting edge events, further cements the area’s emergence as one of London’s most exciting new locations.

Boxpark Wembley will house 27 food and beverage operators, a 20,000 sq ft dedicated events space and 300 capacity venue. Boxpark Wembley has been designed to cater for the millions of visitors who come to the area every year for world class sport, music and shopping, as well as the growing community in Wembley Park, with over 7,000 new homes, 500,000 sq ft of retail and leisure and 630,000 sq ft of Grade A office space being delivered. It is anticipated that 20,000 people will call Wembley Park home by 2027.

The events space will provide a year round cultural destination, creating and hosting a diverse and dynamic events programme for up to 2,000 people. Working together with emerging local artists and established talent from across the capital, Boxpark will further enhance Wembley Park's reputation as a vibrant, connected and emerging neighbourhood.

Speaking about the submission, James Saunders, Chief Operating Officer of Quintain (delivering Wembley Park), said:

“We’re thrilled to be able to say that Boxpark is now officially coming to Wembley Park. The opening will mark as huge step change in the transformation for the area, adding to the growing offer of shops, homes and activity already here. Set to open later this year, Boxpark Wembley will be a new destination for local people and the growing number of visitors to the area, to experience some of the best street food London has to offer. Boxpark is officially coming home, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

Roger Wade, Founder and CEO of Boxpark, said:

“I’m delighted that the Boxpark Wembley planning has been approved. We are looking forward to working closely with our Development Partner Quintain, Brent Council and Wembley Park stakeholders Wembley Stadium, SSE Arena and LDO to deliver a world class fan village and street food destination.” 

Gavin Elliott, Chairman of BDP, said:

“We’re really thrilled and excited that Boxpark Wembley has been granted planning consent. The scheme is a big step forward in terms of the design thinking, while still maintaining the core attributes of being a great place to eat, drink and play.”

Boxpark Wembley unit sizes will range from 500 sq.ft to 1,800 sq.ft, Boxpark is set to announce specific tenants in the coming months, ahead of the opening in autumn 2018.
For more information about Boxpark please visit: https://www.boxpark.co.uk/wembley/

Brent Council also issue their own press release with this statement from Shama Tatler, lead member for regeneration:

Cllr Shama Tatler, Brent Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Employment, Skills and Growth, said:

Wembley's already known the world over but this news from Boxpark shows how far the area has come in becoming so much more than a match-day destination.

There's a real buzz being generated about the place and Boxpark's arrival in Brent will not only be good news for start-ups looking for space or for artists looking for somewhere to perform, it will also help to bring more people to the area which will be a boost for other local businesses too.

Curtains for Community Cardiology in Brent

Guest post by Peter Latham of Brent Patient Voice
 
Brent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has announced that its Community Cardiology Service is to close on 28 February 2018.  So far there is no replacement. Existing patients are to be transferred to the cardiology out-patient service at the Royal Free Hospital (RFL) in Hampstead unless they opt out. 

I presume that new patients with heart conditions who need to be referred to a consultant will be offered appointments at existing acute hospitals, such as Northwick Park and Hammersmith. It is far from clear if those hospitals are set up to absorb the extra caseload in the short term – or if Brent CCG has contracted with them to take these patients.

Brent Patient Voice (BPV) members have been closely monitoring this community cardiology service since it was first thought of – before BPV began.  It was part of a scheme to create 13 ‘Out of Hospital’ NHS specialist community out-patient clinics taken over from the previous Primary Care Trust at the start of Brent CCG in April 2013 under the policy “Better Care, Closer to Home”.  

In the event, after huge effort and expenditure, only 2 of these 13 community services were set up. The others were shelved. The original thinking was that community clinics would save money via lower tariffs as well as delivering the policy slogan. Now 5 years later the strategy lies in ruins.
NHS England policy is currently to increase transferring hospital specialist out patient services to new community clinics.  The problems with the Brent Community Cardiology service provide a valuable lesson for the NHS and its patients and public on the difficulties with this that led to the abandonment of the project.

This community cardiology service started in March 2015 at the Willesden and Wembley Community Healthcare Centres provided by the Royal Free Hospital after a closely contested – some would say flawed - tendering competition and various start-up postponements. The service was originally contracted for 3 years, but it was seen as a permanent new feature of the Brent healthcare scene.

We were first alerted to serious problems with this service when the BPV chair was offered a first and supposedly urgent appointment with the community cardiology service for a date 10 weeks later than required by the contract specification.  This led to my on-site investigation, which revealed that the service was only being operated with about half the opening times required by the contract specification and various other shortcomings such as a manually operated appointments system.  We notified the CCG who thanked us for the feed-back.  It appeared that they had not been monitoring this service on-site to discover these breaches of contract by the Royal Free Hospital.

In August 2015 the CCG invited me to take part in monitoring meetings with RFL over the continuing numerous breaches of contract by them in failing to deliver the community cardiology up to contract specification.  It was not until Spring 2016 that the CCG was satisfied that the service was being provided substantially up to specification. In essence the RFL had discovered that it was much harder to recruit and retain fully qualified consultants and certain specialist technicians than they had anticipated in their bid.

There was a period of around one year during which the service was delivered more or less as required. Then in March 2017 RFL notified Brent CCG that it was no longer willing to provide the weekday evening and Saturday working that the contract specification required them to deliver, and stated that this was ‘non-negotiable’.   The CCG rejected this ultimatum and further NHS ‘contract query notice’ discussions took place, but in summer 2017 it decided it would not try to force RFL to restore the out of hours working. 

Faced with my threat of Judicial Review proceedings  further NHS ‘contract query notice’ discussions took place between the CCG and RFL. As a result in November 2017 the RFL conceded that it would restore part of the weekday evening and some Saturday out of hours working on a temporary basis.  

The RFL then notified the CCG that they were not willing to continue providing the Brent Community Cardiology Service after the end of the first contract on 28 February 2018, and would stop accepting new patients after 9 December 2017.  This apparently took the CCG by surprise. They have admitted that they understood that RFL had agreed that they would continue to provide the service during the process of procuring a new provider. It would not be surprising if RFL thought that this process might be drawn out over many months since the CCG had begun to suggest that they were looking into a community cardiology procurement across all 8 NW London Borough CCGs (the “Collaboration” arrangement).

The outcome is that the Brent CCG Community Cardiology service has collapsed contrary to the long-term plans of the CCG.  Its ‘Out of Hospital’ community service ‘Better Care Closer to Home’ policy has been all but abandoned with the transfer of the service for existing patients to the RFL out-patient cardiology department in the hospital at the more expensive hospital procedures charging tariff. Never mind the deep inconvenience for most Brent patients of travelling to the RFL Hospital close to Hampstead Heath. 

It is now less than a month before the end of the Brent Community Cardiology service.  No clear long-term proposals have been published by Brent CCG for commissioning its out-patient cardiology services.  Nor have any future patient and public consultation and involvement arrangements been published to comply with the statutory duty on the CCG under section 14Z2 of the National Health Service Act 2006 as amended.  I am currently involved in High Court Judicial Review pre-action protocol correspondence with Brent CCG solicitors on these issues.

The CCG has discovered that it is not as easy as originally thought to cut the costs of hospital out-patient services by setting up a new replacement community service.   This unhappy episode has revealed the weakness of a CCG when faced with the ruthless intransigence of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust as a major NHS provider organisation willing to repeatedly dishonour its contract specification obligations to NHS Brent patients when the CCG prove unwilling to take effective action to compel it to comply with its contract.

BPV would like to see the CCG produce a serious assessment of this sorry chain of events to establish clearly what lessons have been learned, but we doubt if it will happen. We suggest that the major mistake made by the previous Primary Care Trust was to make cost-cutting its principal objective, instead of starting with an analysis by clinicians and patients of the existing services and new ones which could be provided “closer to home” safely and in a context which would appeal to both patients and professional staff.

I have no financial or party political interest in these issues. I am a retired Circuit Judge.  I remain open minded about the merits of the NHS community specialist service model as compared with the traditional secondary hospital model.

Labour looking for new candidate in Sudbury

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The Sudbury team in 2013. Aisha Hoda-Benn was elected in May 2014

Brent Labour are searching for a new candidate for Sudbury ward for the local elections in May after Cllr Aisha Hoda-Benn dropped out.

Cllr Hoda-Benn was elected in 2014 and reselected last year. She is currently vice chair of Brent Connects-Wembley and on the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and the Teachers Joint Consultative Committee. She has been absent for 75% of the meetings she was expected to attend.

The only gift declaration she has made is for a tin of biscuits, valued at £19.95 from the secretary of the mosque in Sudbury.

Sudbury ward is a relatively close contest between Labour and the Liberal Democrats (2014 result)